Obaseki’s Team Hiding Vital Documents From Us – APC Committee

The Edo State Joint Transition Committee has adjourned sine die following the inability of officials of the out-going government to provide the required documents germaine to the assignment.

Speaking with journalists in Benin City, Secretary of APC Transition Committee, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale,
said that both parties have agreed to meet when the required information or documents are given to them.

According to Ikhariale, the issue is that the APC Transition Committee members have had series of discussions with the Transition Committee on the side of the outgoing government.

“Unfortunately, the nature of materials that they have supplied to us do not address any of the issues on the table.

“We have interfaced with the relevant officers of the government including the Secretary to State Government (SSG), Mr. Joseph Eboigbe, and they agreed with us on October, 2024 to do exactly what we asked for.

because what they had supplied us at best has not addressed the issue substantially in any form and we have expected by this morning that that will be done.

“We also had a meaningful and strong discussion. We need a set of documents that will address the issues we have raised, and that is where we are.

“We also agreed that today (Tuesday) he (Eboigbe) has to discuss with His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and get back to us.

“And in any case, the information or documents we’re asking for are in line with global best practices, we are not asking for anything out of the ordinary. So it is on record that we have done the needful.

“As we speak, a letter has been sent to them and we do hope that what we have discussed and agreed on as at yesterday would be executed for us to progress and have the joint meetings we are supposed to have and that is the position.

“We are waiting for him to reach out to the governor like he said to know the next line of action to take as to how and when they are giving us the needed documents.

“And we have also as a committee said whatever document or information they want to give to us, give it to us at least within 24 hours before the meeting time to enable us look through it, peruse and have an informed position to discuss so that we don’t go there and be discussing in abstract or discussing things that are not relevant to the subject matter of the day. So these I believe we have agreed on, by both sides.”

“Hopefully, if today, or tomorrow we get the required information and documennts, we will reconvene and do the needful.”

NDLEA Lied Says Senator Lola Ashiru

Senator Oyelola Ashiru’s office has issued a statement to debunk wrong and fallacious impressions created by the NDLEA in its press statement issued on 21 October 2024.

The NDLEA alleged that Senator Ashiru’s house in Ilorin, Kwara State, was raided, and illicit drugs were found. This accusation comes on the heels of Senator Ashiru’s declaration on the senate floor that the NDLEA is corrupt.

We find it preposterous and mere fishing for justification that NDLEA had to wait for the senator’s observation on the floor the Senate before making its spurious allegations.

As a matter of fact, Senator Ashiru never employed any aide bearing Ibrahim Mohammed or Mohammd Yahaya as bandied by NDLEA.

The agency claimed that its operatives visited the senator’s Ilorin house and found nothing incriminating. The entire house was searched, and nothing incriminating was found. If any drugs were found on certain persons mentioned by the NDLEA, it is rational to ask at which court of law were the culprits charged?

It is also important to state that Senator Ashiru has not sent any aide to the NDLEA to influence the dropping of drug allegations against anyone known as Tosin Odepidian. Indeed, all the names mentioned by the agency are strange, and none works directly or indirectly with Senator Ashiru.

The NDLEA has the duty to take anyone suspected of drug dealing to court rather than name- calling and engaging in media trial.

This clarification is necessary to set the record straight and address the misleading information circulated by the NDLEA.

It is an open secret that many criminals, cultists, armed robbers, and drug addicts find their way back into business after gratifying and bribing law enforcement officers.

The NDLEA ought to search its house and fish out bad eggs rather than seek cheap publicity!

Senator Ashiru remains committed to serving the people of Kwara South and upholding the truth at all times in the search for strict professionalism among our law enforcement agencies.

Olaitan Adeyanju
Legislative Aide (MEDIA) to Senator Lola Ashiru

Lagos Assembly To Hold Second Public Hearing On LG Administration Bill

– invites Attorney-General for interpretation of Supreme Court judgment

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday agreed to conduct another public hearing on a bill that seeks to review the Local Government Administration law of the state.

The House also invited the Attorney-General of the State, Lawal Pedro, for an interpretation of the recent Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy for local governments.

The resolutions came at a sitting presided over by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.

Dr. Obasa said the review of the Local Government Administration law is not aimed at scrapping the LCDAs but to further strengthen them.

“I agree on the need for us to schedule a second allotted day for the public hearing,” the Speaker said while adding that he had been inundated with calls by people who wanted to know the fate of the LCDAs.

“We are not scrapping the LDCAs. Rather, what we are trying to do is to look at the recent Supreme Court judgment in terms of Lagos and local governments’ joint account and fashion out a way where the parent local governments and the LDCAs work together without the LDCAs being shortchanged,” he added.

The Speaker also agreed on the need to work on the formal listing of the LCDAs by the National Assembly.

“Kano has 44 local governments, and out of Kano, Jigawa was created and has 27,” he said as he suggested a review of the revenue-sharing formula by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Chairman of the Committee on Local Government, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon, had while reporting on the public hearing earlier conducted by the committee, said that many of the stakeholders invited for the event could not make it.

He attributed the poor attendance to the weather condition of the day just as he prayed the House to approve a second allotted day for the exercise.

Supporting Hon. Okanlawon’s request, his colleague, Hon. Ladi Ajomale said: “A lot of people are saying they do not understand what is going on and maybe the government is trying to wipe some people out of the local government system,” he said.

He also called for a liaison and better collaboration with the National Assembly to make the upper legislature understand why the LDCAs should be listed as substantive local governments.

On his part, Hon. Desmond Elliot noted that because of the size of Lagos in terms of population and its economic importance to Nigeria, it was imperative to work for the listing of the LCDAs.

“Anambra state has 21 local governments, and it is nowhere close to what Lagos has in terms of resources, economic importance, and dividends of democracy,” he said.

Eromosele Ebhomele

Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.